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I used tools like the Seek app, the Wildflowers of Ireland website, and the National Biodiversity Data Centre’s identification sheets to identify native local species, including a Robin, a Buff-tailed Bumblebee, and a Ribwort Plantain. I recorded these sightings directly through Ireland’s Citizen Science Portal to help track local wildlife. To bring citizen science into the classroom, I’d organize a “Wildflower Walk Challenge” where pupils place temporary markers by different plants, describe their features, and use identification keys to learn their names. We’d also conduct Flower-Insect Timed (FIT) counts in the school ground to monitor local pollinators
I really like the idea of using Birr Castle as an outdoor classroom for an art lesson. I can imagine how excited the children would be with this idea.
I’d do a project on William Parsons, the 3rd Earl of Rosse! Back in 1845, who built the famous “Leviathan of Parsonstown”—a giant 72-inch scope that held the title of world’s largest telescope for over 70 years. We would look at interesting facts such as him designing and casting the massive metal mirror right on site at Birr Castle.
I’d use Parsons to set up some hands-on optics and engineering challenges. We could start by exploring light reflection using curved mirrors and lenses to show how telescopes gather distant light. Then, we’d channel the children’s builder mindset through a Design & Make challenge: kids could construct their own mini-reflector scopes with cardboard tubes and mirrors, or engineer sturdy support frames with pulleys and lever, just like the giant stone walls Parsons built to pivot his telescope.
When we’d finished our projects, we could put them on display in the school and have other classes visit and see them. My class could prepare a presentation to explain their project to their schoolmates when they visit.
I like the way you’ve thought about integrating mathematical thinking into the project. The children will have terrific motivation to hone these maths skills in the knowledge that they will need them to carry out this exciting project.
I’d use the Presentation Brothers House and Monastery on Moorpark Street in Birr, County Offaly as inspiration for an “Arch & Truss Engineering Challenge.” In class, pupils would investigate how arches and triangular trusses distribute weight to support heavy masonry and high ceiling. Working in teams, kids would use craft sticks, cardboard, and PVA glue to design, prototype, and build their own miniature load-bearing bridge or frame inspired by the monastery. We’d then take the project outside to conduct a live weight test using water bottles or pebbles to see whose design holds the most.
This project would tie in nicely with another ongoing Creative Cluster project in our school where we studied Georgian architecture in Birr through an artistic lens.
I really like the idea of getting the children outside to the same places throughout the year and noticing the changes in plant life through the seasons
I like the idea of using Google Maps as it is something the children will no doubt use themselves in the future and grounds their learning in something real and relatable
I would love to use the ESA’s ‘Climate from Space’ app with my class and have them zoom right into Offaly so they can see their own backyard from orbit. They’ll love checking out satellite heatmaps, soil moisture levels, and green biomass around the Shannon and local boglands, which instantly kicks off a great chat about geography, habitats, and how local land is actually used. From there, you can easily tie in History by comparing modern satellite views with old maps of Birr or some Maths by having them graph seasonal temperature changes from the data, and Visual Arts by letting them paint or build 3D models of the local landscape based on what they spotted from space.
Hi Elaine, I love the idea of bringing the children to Birr castle to look at a real life telescope and showing them a real life example. It’s a great way to ground their learning in their local community and foster an appreciation for what a marvel of engineering the telescope is.
If I was teaching a lesson on mirrors I would begin by asking
“Does light travel in straight lines, and can we bounce it?”Then, working scientifically in groups, pupils test flat mirrors. Using a torch covered by card with a thin slit, they shine a light beam at a mirror positioned on paper. They trace the incoming ray and the reflected ray to observe that the angles match. We would use this information to try and build a simple periscope and discuss how this is important for navigation such as in submarines.